US economy crisis: Indian kills self, family in LA

Los Angeles, Oct 7: Hit hard by the US financial crisis and unemployment an Indian killed his mother-in-law, his wife and three sons and then killed himself inside a home in an upscale San Fernando Valley neighborhood, police said. Authorities said the man had an MBA in finance but appeared to have been unemployed for several months and had worked for major accounting firms, such as Price Waterhouse, police said.

The two-story rented home is in a gated community in Porter Ranch, about 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Officers found the bodies Monday, Oct 6 morning after the wife failed to show up at a neighbor's home to go to work, Deputy Chief Michel Moore said. The deaths occurred sometime after Saturday, Oct 4 evening.

Assistant Chief from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, Ed Winter identified the suspect as Karthik Rajaram, 45. He said the victims included Rajaram's mother-in-law, Indra Ramasesham, 69, and his 19-year-old son Krishna Rajaram, a Fulbright Scholar and honor student at UCLA.

Also dead were Rajaram's wife, 39, and their two other sons, 12 and 7. Some of the victims had been shot more than once and their identities were not immediately confirmed, he said.

"Due to the nature of their injuries, it's been a little difficult," he said. There were no signs of struggle, Winter added. Police first found the mother-in-law shot in her bed in a downstairs bedroom, Moore said.

The couple's eldest old son was shot in the master bedroom in upstairs, wife was in another bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head and the two younger sons in the bedroom they shared, both shot in the head. The 12-year-old was on the floor and the 7-year-old in bed. Karthik's body was found in same bedroom, a gun still in his hand.

Police found three letters inside the house, one to law enforcement acknowledging responsibility for the killings, a second to friends and relatives and a third that appears to be the suspect's will, Moore said. Reports suggest that due to some financial difficulties Karthik took this extreme measure. He also took the responsibility for the taking of the lives of his family members and himself as a result of those financial difficulties.

Cops said that the neighbours, family and friends of Karthik Rajaram said that he was unemployed for several months and he was having had extreme financial difficulties.

OneIndia News